I’m now half-way into my first month of freelancing and I think things are going reasonably well. I have regular work for at least one day a week, plus a few other potential projects lined up, which is more than my initial pessimistic forecast.
I also have dates for my two financial adviser exams, at the beginning of August (regulation and ethics) and start of October (tax and protection). There will be a few more hoops to jump through before I can start trading, but I’m hoping to be up and running by the end of the year.
The biggest challenge I’m finding at the moment is striking the right balance between advertising and controlling the amount of work coming in. I don’t know what my conversion rate (for want of a better phrase) will be, so it’s hard to tell whether meeting ten clients will result in overwork or no work.
All things considered though, I’m much happier doing this than I was at the University, even though I miss having colleagues to talk to.